Society
Malaga's homeless set up shacks on rotten planks at the Guadalmedina river mouth
The city council will remove structures and scrap metal as part of a joint operation involving the Local Police and Limasam and offer assistance and support to the homeless, particularly during the rainy season
Makeshift shacks have made a comeback at the mouth of the Guadalmedina river in Malaga city in recent days, to the surprise of locals. Until ... now, such settlements were usually beneath the bridges along the river, but it was less common to see them on the footbridges marking the river's mouth. In addition to the extreme damp and the danger the location poses, there is the deterioration of the wooden floor planks, many of which are broken or rotten.
Social services have a clear record of where these residents live. They have even set aside outdoor spaces to lay out and organise their belongings and scrap. Malaga city council has confirmed to Sur that it is preparing a joint operation involving the Local Police and the municipal cleaning company Limasam to dismantle the shacks on both banks of the final stretch of the river.
According to municipal sources, the planned operation will involve the use of a crane lorry to lift the materials from the Pasillo del Matadero and proceed with their removal. "Before removing the materials, the occupants will be given prior notice so that they can collect their belongings. At the same time, the social rights department will offer them assistance to help them find alternative accommodation," city council sources told Sur.
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The intervention is particularly urgent given the current weather conditions. Following the activation of an amber warning with the arrival of Storm Charles, the local authorities started informing the inhabitants of these shacks of the risk so that they would vacate the area. However, on Thursday morning, SUR was able to verify that the warnings had fallen on deaf ears: the settlements remain intact.
The city council said that the street unit, in coordination with civil protection, regularly patrols the most vulnerable locations where homeless people may be found to warn them of the danger of heavy rainfall and offer them access to municipal support services.
In addition to the obvious risk of flooding, there are also maintenance works on the bottom drains of the El Limonero reservoir, which are routinely carried out on the first Wednesday of every month and, occasionally, following storms and torrential rain that affect the safe water level.
Meanwhile, the riverbed, mired in the endless wait for comprehensive redevelopment presents a picture of severe disrepair right in the heart of the city, characterised by foul odours, waste, graffiti and poorly maintained street furniture.
The attitude of those living along the river towards municipal assistance has traditionally been mixed. While some go to Puerta Única to carry out administrative procedures or receive intercultural mediation, others systematically decline any assistance or social support.
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